Dinner! 2012

[TheCulinaryLibrary]

Addicted to fondant potatoes ...still......with anything or nothing.... with beef fillet and a compound butter of sauteed leek/shallot/ herb/horseraddish

Edited September 13, 2012 by TheCulinaryLibrary (log)

[Kim Shook]

Thank you for the good wishes about my grandmother. She is 88 years old just amazes everyone. Her doctor is thrilled with how she went through the surgery and how she is already beginning her recovery. I’ll be going down there every couple of weeks for the foreseeable future.

chefmd – beautiful wedge salad – one of my favorites!

Bruce – that bread sitting behind your scampi looks fantastic – local bakery? You? Mrs. C.?

dcarch – thank you, but I am QUITE sure that you could make a fabulous quiche. Mr. Kim is hanging over my shoulder gazing with lust at your beautiful sashimi!

Shane – I have the recipe for the ABT’s tucked away from last football season to make for Mr. Kim – thanks for the reminder! I make those tortilla stacks, but it never occurred to me to grill them. I am definitely trying that!

Elise – glad to see you posting. Everything looks lovely, of course, but my can’t-wait-for-Fall self is dying for those gorgeous Brussels sprouts!

Stash – those scalloped tomatoes look and sound so wonderful! And the roasted potatoes look perfect.

TheCulinaryLibrary - I have had fondant potatoes one in my life - last year on our trip to England and I've never forgotten them. Fabulous!

My MIL is having her kitchen completely redone (I’m GREEN!), so we had her over for dinner last night. I did Garlic Shrimp, salad, roasted asparagus and orzo:

Really nice vinaigrette with orange muscat vinegar.

And fruit and cheese for afters:

Including some really good figs that I candied/dried myself (with some very welcome and needed advice from the folks here at eG):

Edited September 13, 2012 by Kim Shook (log)

[Norm Matthews]

It is cold and rainy today. I wanted soup and had some stock in the freezer along with stuff that needed to be used up: some corn on the cob that I forgot to use a few days ago along with left over hamburger, mushrooms, onions, a carrot, a couple of fingerling potatoes, and part of a tomato. Son isn't a big soup fan but went back for seconds.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Kim Shook]

Well, apparently great minds think alike because last night the leftover orzo from dinner the previous night and the cooler temperatures inspired chicken-orzo soup:

Augmented by various bits and pieces of cheese and fruit from last night’s afters. I used some duck stock that I had in the freezer and found the soup just a bit too unctuous. It needed lots of salt and lemon juice to spark it up. Does duck stock not pair well with chicken? It’s not something that I usually have on hand and this is the first time I’ve ever used it for chicken soup.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

.... The sauce was somewhat unfortunate despite my best efforts. The passion fruit did not work well with the other flavors.

What type of passionfruit did you use? Maracuyá (the big, yellow- or purple-cased ones with very intense yellow-orange arils) are very acid and don't play very well with other flavours, but I've had great success combining them with another fruit before introducing them to the spices. Blackberry/Maracuyá is an excellent combo if you want to hit the heat with it, as is Maracuyá/Mango (which makes a fantastic base for medium to hot curry type sauces).

If you can source it, Granadilla (smaller, orange-yellow cases with spots, pale white arils) is a much better passionfruit to base sauces around, as it's not nearly as acid as other types.

[FrogPrincesse]

.... The sauce was somewhat unfortunate despite my best efforts. The passion fruit did not work well with the other flavors.

What type of passionfruit did you use? Maracuyá (the big, yellow- or purple-cased ones with very intense yellow-orange arils) are very acid and don't play very well with other flavours, but I've had great success combining them with another fruit before introducing them to the spices. Blackberry/Maracuyá is an excellent combo if you want to hit the heat with it, as is Maracuyá/Mango (which makes a fantastic base for medium to hot curry type sauces).

If you can source it, Granadilla (smaller, orange-yellow cases with spots, pale white arils) is a much better passionfruit to base sauces around, as it's not nearly as acid as other types.

Elizabeth,

This was a concentrate, not the fresh fruit. If I get fresh ones (I saw the yellow ones at the farmers' market last week), maybe I will give it another chance.

Thank you for the details on the different types of passion fruit, this is great info!

[Norm Matthews]

Your soup looks very good Kim. I can't imagine duck stock not going well with anything.... Well maybe not licorice.

[mm84321]

Ricotta gnocchi with artichokes and olives

[KatieLoeb]

Last gasp of summer. Watermelon, heirloom tomato, feta and mint salad tonight. Dressed with EVOO and fresh lime juice with a tiny bit of agave nectar, salt and pepper. Refreshing and delicious. I'll miss this, but I'm still excited for autumn flavors and produce to kick in.

[Norm Matthews]

Dinner tonight was divided up. Son made Korean Crispy Chicken Wings with a sweet ginger glaze

Cassie made stuffed and bacon wrapped jalapenos

and I made a winter squash dish with onions, garlic ,queso fresco, coconut milk and pecans.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Norm Matthews (log)

[superbadkitty]

Ok, OT, but where'd ya get the lamp?

Made it myself.

Bent some forks and had some conch shells.

dcarch

That is so clever!! Love it!

[rotuts]

Norm: Id like to hear more about those Korean Wings! looks deliciious

[Dejah]

It's been a while since I posted. We were on a 3-week road trip to California and home to Canada via Lubbock, Texas. After eating on the road, I was ready to cook again!

Here are some meals from the last couple of weeks:

Maple-Orange Glazed Pork Chops:

Lemongrass - Chili Pepper Beef Stir-fry:

Thai Basil Chicken Stir-fry:

Thai Curry Braised Lamb Shanks:

Meen See (Brown Soy Bean Paste) Steamed Pork Ribs:

And, Ciopinno:

GREAT to be home!

[Franci]

Hi guys,

How is everybody? I just spent some minutes going through the last pages. Lovely meals.

mm84321 I'm always so admired. That neck, mmmhh

Xilimmns, looking forward from your food from Brazil, I need someone to demystify all kind of polvilho and mandioca flours for me. Great fish dishes

Dcarch, how I miss good sushi. Yours looks spectacular.

Frogprincess, nice to see you again!

Soba, wonderful meals as usual.

Norm, oh, those wings are talking to me.

Kim, to me you are a window into American food, I missed your posts.

Dejah, what a spread. I wouldn't know where to start eating.

I'm going to post some dinners I had in the last weeks.

Oxtail terrine in gelatine

Duck breast and foie gras escalopes with figs

Lamb shoulder

Fish soup

Rillons with endive

Boeuf tartare

Lamb neck with olives and lemons, always love Jennifer McLagan

Insalata di nervetti

[rotuts]

Franci: inspirational! love all but Ill have the tartare for starters and the nervetti for the first course.

still havent decided on a main yet!

Got it: duck breast with a 'side' of rillions. thats a salad right?

Edited September 16, 2012 by rotuts (log)

[ElsieD]

Norm, I hear those chicken wings calling my name. Any chance you would be willing to share the recipe?

[Kim Shook]

Norm – I like the look of those Korean wings! And apparently ABT’s are on everyone’s minds this week because I have some in the oven right now for Mr. Kim’s football snack later!

Dejah – Welcome Home! Gorgeous food, by the way! I know how you feel – when I’m out of town for a long time, I really crave cooking in my own kitchen.

Last night we had fish and chips and slaw:

The fish was frozen, but recommended by someone at another website. It was bland and almost tasteless. Won’t be trying that again. The fries were done in the Joël Robuchon method of placing the potatoes in one layer in a pan, covering with room temperature oil and slowly bringing up to 360 degrees. As promised, they were crisp outside, fluffy inside and not at all greasy. Unfortunately, the directions that I found online indicated that they would take anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes. They took nearer an hour and, therefore were served AFTER dinner. They were very good, but I don’t know that I’d do them again. It seems to me that it is easier to just do the first blanch early in the day and then drop them for a couple of minutes just before you want to serve them.

[Norm Matthews]

Here is a good link to Korean chicken wings with pictures included. The recipe is kind of involved.

http://abeautifulmos...t-ginger-glaze/

Edit: The mom of one of my son's friends does this in the oven but it isn't as crisp. You can also put the wings in the oven to keep warm after they have been glazed if you want to hold them while preparing other things.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Norm Matthews (log)

[Paul Bacino]

MY Cracker Pie Pizza

Onions, Blue Cheese and Rosemary

[sadistick]

MY Cracker Pie Pizza

Onions, Blue Cheese and Rosemary

Try deglazing the onions with balsamic next time.

Awesome pizza.

[mm84321]

Cauliflower roasted with grapes, almonds and curry

[Norm Matthews]

Early dinner today and sandwiches for a few days: roast chicken with home made gravy. Made stock with neck, giblet and onion. Gravy with chicken drippings, flour, stock, S&P and a splash of sherry. We had it with rice. Son had fresh squeezed orange juice (Valencia) and I had Diet Coke.

[patrickamory]

Beans borrachos, but perforce New England style for various reasons... no bacon, no poblanos, no chicharrones, plus we had Pearl's hot dogs in the house.

So I rendered salt pork in place of bacon, roasted and peeled a jalapeno instead of poblano, and cut up hot dogs in place of extra pork. Beans were RG borlottis. And added some pimenton de la vera for some of the missing smokiness. It was pretty tasty... a sort of Bos-Tex franks and beans:

Of course we had to have hot dogs as well, in top-split New England rolls:

[C. sapidus]

GREAT to be home!

Good for us, too. Welcome back!

Franci – Welcome back to you, too. Lovely meals!

Catching up on past questions . . .

FrogPrincesse – Panang curry is quick and easy if you have curry paste on hand; less so if you don’t.

Kim - The bread with the scampi was lovingly prepared by the bakers at our local Giant-Eagle. Speaking of scampi – nice garlic shrimp

Elder son requested steak for his birthday meal. I was craving deep chile flavors.

First, I made a slow-simmered sauce with toasted guajillo chiles, roasted garlic, chipotle in adobo, chicken stock, cumin, oregano, and black pepper. No pics, but this sauce should make another appearance later this week.

Quick cowboy beans (also no pic) with pinto beans, bacon, pickled jalapenos, tomato, and garlic. Mrs. C made garlic bread and a salad with particularly tasty heirloom tomatoes from the garden.

Grilled red onion:

NY strip steaks, briefly marinated with the guajillo chile sauce and a splash of cider vinegar, grilled over charcoal and served with more guajillo chile sauce.

[Kim Shook]

Franci – good to see you posting and how kind you are. I sometimes feel a little embarrassed to post my modest meals here and your comment makes me feel much easier about it! Every single thing you posted was beautiful and inspirational, but that duck and fig dish made me very, very happy !

Paul – cracker pie pizza – wow!

mm – the roasted cauliflower dish looks lovely and sounds so delicious. The idea of grapes with it is what separates the wheat from the chaff – I am most definitely chaff, because I never would have thought of it and it sounds so perfect!

Bruce – those steaks are gorgeous! And steak should always be served with grilled onions. Hmmm. We are having steak tomorrow night and I have leftover balsamic onions from last night. Thanks for the idea!

If my memory is correct, I am the third person in a week to do some version of ABT’s. I did them for Mr. Kim’s football snack yesterday. Cream cheese and sausage stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon:

After baking:

He loved these things! I did have a few ‘blow outs’ – I realized half way through wrapping with bacon that I probably needed to wrap the ends of the jalapenos, but wasn’t about to start over. It was fine – I didn’t lose too much, but I’ll put that in the recipe for next time.

Dinner last night was a new recipe from Food Network’s Melissa d’Arabian – braised country-style pork ribs w/ polenta and roasted balsamic onions:

I’d never made anything of hers before – I hardly ever watch her show – but I may need to start. This was really, really good. The sauce was rich and complex and the polenta was fantastic. The polenta is actually done in a slow cooker – very little maintenance and since it takes 2 hours, you can get it in the cooker and go one with the rest of your meal. I’ll be using this recipe again and again!